Perimenopausal Stress Reactions: A Qualitative Study on the Awareness of Spouses

Abstract

Menopause is the complete cessation of the mentstrual cycle, which is caused by loss in the ovarian follicular activity. Women reach their non-reproductive years when they reach menopause. But the journey towards it is not that easy as it sounds. The transition period may take less or long time depending on individuals.The menopausal transition can be a period of stress, even lead to trauma if left unnoticed or unsupported. The menopausal transition period is called the perimenopausal period. Perimenopause is considered to be the period (3-8 years) before and after the final menstrual cycle. It is a phase in a woman's life that needs immense support and care from the spouse. But still, researchers are skeptical about the information men have regarding the period. Even though many studies highlight the physiological changes that happen during the perimenopausal or menopausal transition period, there is still a lack in the number of studies that emphasize the psychological difficulties women face in the perimenopausal period. Emotional support from the husband is of significance amid many such difficulties. For assisting, the spouse should be completely aware of what his wife is going through. The significance of the study lies here, as it focuses on the awareness of the spouses about the perimenopausal period. The study intends to investigate the level of awareness men have about the perimenopausal period.The study also attempts to find out how  the spouses perceive themselves to have supported their wives during the perimenopausal period. The study followed a qualitative approach in data collection and analysis. The data was collected using a semi-structured interview. 34 men (spouses of perimenopausal women) from Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, and Thrissur districts of Kerala, India were selected using purposive sampling. The method of thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. For the analysis, the software NVivo was used. The final themes extracted were, unawareness, attitude, regret, and techniques to be adopted. The results revealed the unawareness majority of the participants had about the phase and throws light on the need to create awareness among men to help women cope better with the phase. Participants also reported the reasons they felt which led to this level of unawareness and how they felt there is a need to adopt many techniques which may help their wives cope better with the phase. The major reasons, the partcipants noted as reasons for their unawareness were, lack of information from the family, lack of communication from their spouses, which led to major confusions in them. From the results it could be understood that there is high level of unawareness among the participants regarding the perimenopausal period. There is a need to create awareness among men to understand the phase better to help their spouses cope better with the perimenopausal period.